​​HOUSTON - The University of Houston is vying to become a bigger player for health care and biotech, and its second biomedical building should help sure up that reputation.

The project, which began in July and is expected to be completed in 2017, will be 300,000 sf and used to consolidate UH's existing health care-related programs under one roof.

The Health and Biomedical Sciences Building (HBSB2), which is the second on campus, will also include new primary care clinic that will partner with one of Houston's Federally Qualified Health Centers, which will be open to the public and students.

The clinic will have OB-GYN services, family practice and pediatric physicians.

In addition, HBSB2 will be home to the Center for Drug Discovery, to aid UH faculty who want to focus on the development of new drugs. It will assist in commercialize scientific research to translate it to health care practice.

The project is expected to cost $145 million.

HBSB2 will also be a cornerstone of the University of Houston's biomedical district, which is located in the southeast quadrant of the Third Ward campus.